Columbia men sentenced for distributing synthetic heroin that killed a man

Three Columbia men have been sentenced for a conspiracy to distribute synthetic heroin, which resulted in the death of another man.

The U.S. attorney’s office says 26-year-old Marquette Deandre Murrell was sentenced to five years in prison and 22-year-old Nick Connor Burris to three years in prison for participating in a drug distribution conspiracy.

Columbia police say Burris admitted he supplied the drug to an 18-year-old man who was found dead of a drug overdose in August 2015. He admitted he bought the drug from Murrell, who told him it was 95 percent pure and should be diluted. Burris mixed the synthetic heroin with Benadryl before giving it to the victim.

Twenty-three-year-old Nathaniel Dean Rodgers was sentenced to five years of probation after allowing Burris to come to his apartment.

This story was originally published November 9, 2016 at 1:15 PM with the headline "Columbia men sentenced for distributing synthetic heroin that killed a man."